


fly me to the moon

by leonshardt



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Borderlands AU, M/M, junk dealing on the moon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-27
Updated: 2017-03-27
Packaged: 2018-10-11 19:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10472532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leonshardt/pseuds/leonshardt
Summary: McCree is scaving for a replacement humidifier when he sees the moonshot container hurtling down towards Elpis, bright as a falling star.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is an AU based on Borderlands: The Presequel. You do not have to have played the Presequel to understand this story. This AU also has nothing to do with the previous Borderlands AU I wrote for McGenji Week. 
> 
> Special thanks to Macca for cheerleading and to this guy for... whatever it is they do.

 

McCree is scaving for a replacement humidifier when he sees the moonshot container hurtling down towards Elpis, bright as a falling star.

He peers at it, one hand shielding his eyes from the flare as it tears through Elpis’ lower atmosphere. There’s an impact as it hits the moon’s surface. It couldn’t have ended up too far from here-- McCree can see the smoke trails from where the cargo unit landed, just beyond the hill of the junkyard.

 _Interesting,_ McCree thinks. Supplies delivered via cargo drops aren’t unusual on the moon, but what is strange is that this unit seems to have missed any nearby towns, instead dropping into a crater the middle of nowhere. Which also happens to be where McCree lives.

McCree shrugs. The container could just be junk, ejected from the nearest space station. Or it could contain valuable parts, worth a decent selling price. Either way, it wouldn’t hurt to check out.

He takes a moment to refill his O2 canister in the air dome generator, and then bounds towards the plume of smoke.

 

-

 

“Hey! Hey, thought you might be salvage. But uh… you’re not. So. The good news is that you’re alive. The bad news is that the second you open this door, all the air in there is gonna vent and you’re gonna suffocate.”

McCree pauses. There’s no answer from the inside of the container, so he continues.

“So, here’s the plan. When you’re ready, open the door and follow me to my oxygen bubble. Sound good, partner?”

He steps back and waits. There’s movement behind the transparent panel of the container. Then, the door pops open and a man stumbles out.

He’s nothing like anyone McCree has seen before, and McCree has seen a _lot_ in his time. There’s some kind of armored plating covering the stranger’s entire body. It bends and flexes with his every movement; not armor, then, unless it’s some kind he’s never seen before. Prosthetics, maybe? There’s also something long and thin strapped to the stranger’s back. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be some kind of curved sword.

The stranger is struggling to stand up. McCree catches him before he falls, draping one of his arms around his shoulders to support him.

“Hey. Can you walk?” McCree asks.

There’s a faint wheezing sound from underneath the stranger’s helmet. Like his lungs are struggling to pull in oxygen from an atmosphere that contains none.

McCree fumbles with his O2 kit, leaning forward and tipping the man’s head up at the same time until their noses are almost touching. The stranger, guided into McCree’s O2 bubble, takes a gasping breath.

“That’s it,” McCree says. “C’mon, we gotta move.”

They walk like that to the air dome generator, pausing every few steps to share air. The oxygen runs out faster with the two of them using McCree’s O2 kit, but luckily the garage is only a short distance away.

The stranger lurches inside as soon as McCree kicks the door open, leaning over to catch his breath with his hands on his knees. McCree follows, trying to give him some space.

“So, howdy,” McCree says, after a moment. “Nice to meet ya. I’m Jesse McCree, bounty hunter and parts dealer. And you are?”

The man straightens, looking McCree in the eye. Or McCree assumes he’s looking him in the eye-- the stranger’s face is covered with an angular faceplate which obscures his expression. The slit in the visor glows green when he talks. “Genji,” he says.

“Well, Genji,” McCree says. “What brings you to Elpis?”

Genji’s visor turns slightly, but he remains silent. After a moment, it becomes clear that he isn’t going to answer.

“Alrighty then,” McCree says. That’s fine. If Genji doesn’t want to talk, he won’t pry. McCree waves a hand. “Well, in any case you’re not gonna last a minute out here without an O2 kit. I don’t have any extra, but I know a friend who might. If you wanna sit tight for a moment, I can get you one.”

Genji tilts his head. “You are leaving me here?”

“Yeah,” McCree says. “Well, if you don’t mind, I mean.”

“I don’t. Do you?” Genji says.

McCree shakes his head. “I’ll be right back,” he says, and flashes him a grin before bounding off into the darkness.

 

-

 

Mei-Ling Zhou is a climatologist studying Elpis’ conditions in its post-Crackening state. That’s her official reason for being here, anyway-- she’s stationed in a small research facility not far from McCree’s garage, and she also happens to be the only other person living in the vicinity of McCree.

McCree suspects that the rest of her research team either died or left during the Crackening, and that Mei is the only one left out of all of them. It would make her crazy for deciding to stay here after all the horror and destruction of the moon splitting open. But McCree suspects that Elpis has a way of making everyone crazy, eventually. Something about the atmosphere composition, or being under the stars too much. This fucked up, kraggon-infested hunk of a rock that Dahl left them with.

In any case, he’s hoping that Mei has a spare O2 kit.

“Jesse! It’s good to see you,” Mei says, when he walks in.

“Howdy,” McCree says, tipping his hat. Mei ushers him into the kitchen, putting a pot of tea to boil. They talk over tea and snacks, settling into a comfortable chatter.

“So, I have a visitor,” McCree says.

Mei gasps. “Out here? How?”

McCree shrugs. “Darn if I know. He just fell from the sky. I mean literally-- he popped out of a moonshot container by the junkyard.”

“Oh. Is he… nice?” Mei says.

“I dunno,” McCree says. “He didn’t talk much. Suffocated most of the time I was with him.”

“I see,” Mei says. They both contemplate their tea for a minute.

“Speakin' of which,” McCree says, “I was wondering if you had an extra O2 kit? Fella needs one real bad.”

“You can take one from the storeroom,” Mei says. “But now you’ve got me curious! Is there any chance I could meet this stranger? It’s not every day we get visitors out here.”

McCree shrugs. “Yeah. Sure. I mean, there’s a possibility he’s actually some kind of escaped robot assassin from one of Helios’ research labs and he’ll kill both of us, but hey, I ain’t stopping you.”

Mei laughs. “Oh Jesse, you are so funny.”

“Yeah,” McCree says, staring into the dregs of his tea. “Guess I am.”

 

-

 

McCree finds Genji sitting cross-legged on the floor of his garage, surrounded by moon-buggy parts and bits of salvage. McCree notes that his sword is nowhere to be seen.

“I got you an O2 kit,” McCree says. He holds it out.

“Thanks,” Genji says. He doesn’t move from his spot on the floor. McCree starts to feel awkward standing, so he goes to take a seat by Genji. Genji doesn’t move away from him, which is a good sign, but his body language doesn’t indicate that he’s comfortable, either. If anything, they’re both cautious, not quite used to the other.

“The air here is dry,” Genji says.

“Yeah, uh. Humidifier broke. I was lookin’ for a new one, but I guess I found you instead,” McCree says.

“You also said you were a bounty hunter, not a mechanic,” Genji says, gesturing around the garage.

McCree bristles. “I can be both,” he says. “I’m a man of many skill sets.”

Genji’s visor turns toward him, flashing green-- was that laughter? Impossible to tell without seeing his face, but McCree thinks it would be better not to ask.

“Then why don’t you use the moon buggies to get around instead of walking?” Genji asks.

"Wish I could," McCree says, shaking his head, "but the vehicle digistruct stations are useless without the key, and some jerkbag called Deadlift’s got it."

“Deadlift?”

“Yeah. Leads a bunch of bandits out in Regolith Range. They’re a nasty bunch, wouldn’t want to get tangled up with them.”

Genji makes a thoughtful noise. “So you never tried to get the key back?”

McCree throws his hands up in the air. “I mean I tried, alright? But it’s like taking down a fortress alone. A man’s gotta know when to pick his battles.”

Genji laughs-- and it really is laughter this time, no mistaking it. McCree tries not to look surprised.

“I’ve taken down worse things than a fortress myself,” Genji says. “I can get the key back. After I recover.”

“After you--oh,” McCree says. It had occurred to him that Genji might have sustained damage from the crash landing earlier, but there aren’t visible marks on him. Then again, McCree can’t really tell what Genji is supposed to look like unharmed, seeing as he’s never met anyone like him before.

As for Genji’s claim of facing Deadlift and his men alone… McCree has his doubts, although he doesn’t voice them.

“I’ve got some medkits in the bottom cabinet,” McCree says. “You’re welcome to 'em, seeing as it looks like you’ll be needing them more than me.”

Genji inclines his head. “It seems that I have imposed upon your hospitality. I hope you don’t mind I stay a little longer until I am fit to travel again.”

“Oh.” McCree says. “I don’t mind one bit. You’re the most interesting thing that’s hit this crater since… well, as long as I can remember. Unless you mind?”

“Not at all,” Genji says. “Thank you, Mr. McCree.”

“Just Jesse will do,” McCree mumbles.

“What?”

“Call me Jesse.”

Genji’s visor glows warmly. “Thank you, Jesse,” he says.

 

-

 

A few days pass, then a few weeks, and Genji stays in McCree’s garage. He recovers his strength enough to accompany McCree on scaving runs, and McCree finds himself grateful for the extra pair of hands while combing through wreckage sites for parts. Genji is a quick learner, and nimble; he can slip in and out small spaces that McCree wouldn’t be able to reach, reemerging with an armful of circuitry and delicate wiring.

Genji helps in other ways, too. As McCree discovers, he’s very useful in scaring away kraggons with that sword of his. And when those pesky lava lizards grow too large in number, or roam too close to the campsite, Genji helps McCree cull them.

Genji’s body is a work of art when in motion.

“I’ve never seen anyone fight like that,” McCree says, as they’re trudging back to the garage, bruised and a little singed.

“The same goes to you,” Genji says. “Where did you learn to shoot like that?”

McCree shrugs. “Oh, you know. Grew up in the Dust on Pandora. Big, wide desert. Full of bandits and creatures that wanna kill you, so I had to learn to take care of myself.”

“I see,” Genji says.

“What about you?” McCree says. “Never seen anyone handle a sword like that before.”

There’s a pause, as they walk silently together. Finally, Genji speaks. “I have trained since I was very young. To serve my family.”

“Oh.” McCree scratches his beard. “Some family you got there.”

“Yes,” Genji says.

“Are you… going back to see them?” McCree asks.

“Perhaps eventually,” Genji says. “We... did not part on the best of terms. They did not approve of my traveling, so I had to find other methods to come to Pandora.”

“You mean you don’t usually travel by moonshot container?” McCree says.

Genji’s visor turns as he gives McCree a sidelong glance. “Not usually,” he says, voice full of good humor. “But this time, I am glad I did.”

 

-

 

Mei comes by to visit. Genji takes to her; he listens to her chatter about her research, and seems to understand all the complicated science-y bits that usually go over McCree’s head. McCree listens to their conversation as he works on repairs around the garage.

Genji being here means that they have an extra mouth to feed, which in turn means Mei has to come by more often to drop off supplies. McCree doesn’t mind. There’s something soothing about being around regular company again, about hearing voices other than his own, about waking up and realizing he’s not alone under the sprawling stars and vast darkness.

Mei seems rather pleased about the situation, as well.

“You know, Genji said he’ll accompany me on one of my expeditions to Triton Flats,” she tells McCree. “It could be fun, I’ve never had a research assistant before.”

“Not sure he’s exactly qualified in the field of climatology,” McCree remarks.

Mei huffs. “Oh, don’t be silly Jesse. At least he’s a better candidate than you! You’re always too busy wandering around looking for junk, anyway.”

“ _Parts_ ,” McCree corrects. “I wander around looking for _parts_ , not junk.”

Mei only smiles.

It’s not like McCree minds lending Genji over to Mei for a few days, anyhow. He wonders when he started thinking of Genji as his-- not _his_ , in that sort of way-- but there is some lingering sense of attachment McCree can’t quite name. He chalks it up to living alone for far too long.

In any case, he’s always glad to see Genji when he’s coming back from the Flats, looking a little better for the wear.

“Jesse!” Genji calls. “I’m back!”

McCree feels the corners of his mouth tugging upwards. “It’s about time you did. A kraggon ate my hat while you were gone.”

Genji laughs. McCree thinks he could get used to that sound.

 

-

 

McCree’s hair is getting long, so he starts tying it up while he works. It doesn’t really bother him, seeing as proper haircuts are hard to come by around here, but one day Genji comes up to him and gently tugs on one his brown locks. McCree winces.

“Hey!” he says. “That’s mine.” But McCree has gotten good at reading Genji’s body language. He can tell when he’s amused.

“I can trim it for you,” Genji says.

And so McCree ends up sitting on a stool in the garage with a towel draped over his shoulders while Genji shakes his hair loose out of its ponytail. The scissors snip. Bits of hair fall around McCree’s face, tickling his nose. Genji chuckles behind him. When he’s done, he runs a hand over McCree’s scalp. The movement is careful. Deliberate.

When he is finished, McCree reaches up to touch the shortened ends of his hair. “How do I look?” he asks.

Genji hums. “Quite good. I am glad to see my skills have not waned. I used to style my own hair, you know.”

McCree swivels around to look at him. “You used to have hair?” he asks.

“I used to have many things,” Genji says.

“Oh.” McCree fidgets, shaking loose bits of hair off his shoulders. “Um… If you don’t mind me askin’, what happened?”

Genji sighs. “It’s a long story. One about my upbringing, my brother, and the Shimada Clan. I could tell it to you, if you wish to listen.”

“I think I’d like that,” McCree says.

They settle in. Genji talks. McCree listens.

Outside the window port, meteors begin to fall.

 

-

 

Genji goes on treks across Serenity’s Waste sometimes. At first he only roams short distances from McCree’s camp, and then he starts exploring out further and further. It doesn’t worry McCree; Genji is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Still, he’s always happy to see Genji come back to the camp in one piece.

Genji’s making some kind of map, adding notes and markers to McCree’s ECHO guide. Landmarks, mostly, some notable scav sites that McCree hasn’t gotten the chance to pilfer yet. A few kraggon dens, and the detours to avoid them.

He brings things back sometimes. Mostly guns and ammo ripped from bandit corpses. McCree appreciates the thought.

One day Genji comes back with a new humidifier in his arms.

“Oh,” McCree says, in surprise. “Where did you find that?”

“Regolith Range,” Genji says. “I cannot live with this dry air all the time.”

And that’s when McCree knows he’s staying.

The first time Genji crawls into bed with him, it’s the middle of the night and all the lights in the camp are turned down for the sleep cycle. McCree is roused from the movement, momentarily panicked from the unexpectedness of it-- but then he peers through the dimness and realizes it’s just Genji, and he relaxes.

When he realizes Genji isn’t wearing his faceplate, his heart jumps again.

“Hi,” Genji says, as he slips into the space between McCree’s body and the bedside table. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t. Do you?” McCree asks, sliding over to make room for Genji.

Genji smiles.

He’s warmer than McCree thought he would be.

 

-

 

In hindsight, McCree should have noticed Genji adding more and more notes on Regolith Range. It was obvious. He was planning to take down Deadlift, scouting the nearby territory and ambushing the roving bandit forces. Dangerous. It would be an impossible endeavor for most people.

Even so, McCree is impressed but not exactly surprised when Genji limps back to camp one day, bruised and sparking a bit at the edges, but triumphant. He’s also holding the digistruct key in one hand.

“Genji,” McCree says. “What--”

“I got it,” Genji says, voice coming out a little muffled from behind the faceplate. “Deadlift is dead.”

Then he collapses on the floor of the garage. McCree hurries to his side in a worry, cradling Genji’s helmet in his hands.

“Genji?” McCree says, peering down at him. “Are you alright?”

Genji’s visor flickers. “The fight must have shorted out some of my systems. But do not worry, I will recover,” he mutters.

McCree breathes out slowly. “Genji,” he says, “I wouldn’t have asked you to-- If I’d known--”

Genji’s hand settles on top of McCree's. “You didn’t ask me,” he says. “I wanted to.”

“But--”

“I wanted to,” Genji repeats. He squeezes McCree’s hand. “Anyway, I think… I think those jump pads were the most exhilarating thing I had felt in a while. It was like flying.”

McCree chokes out a laugh. “Really? I mean… we could do it again sometime. If you’d like.”

Genji nods, slow. “Yes. I think I would like that,” he says.

 

-

 

With the vehicle digistruct stations back online, the route to Concordia is open again. McCree has business in the bustling city: shopping to do, parts to trade in, bounties to check up on.

“Concordia is the biggest spaceport on Elpis. It would be a shame not to see it for myself,” Genji says, as McCree is loading up the moon buggy.

“Well, you’re welcome to come with me,” McCree says.

“You don't mind?”

“‘Course I don’t!”

So Genji climbs into the back of the buggy, wedged between a crate of parts and a sack of moonstones. The cargo pushes them close together. Far from any civilization, the sky stretches dark and wide above them.

In Concordia, they split up. McCree goes to tend to his business, letting Genji wander about the ex-Dahl spaceport, sightseeing and weaving through the bars and neon-lit shops. McCree sets about emptying the buggy of his wares, trading in his parts at the mechanics’ emporium. Afterwards, he stops by the Meriff’s office to collect the bounty for Deadlift. When he has finished, he makes sure to visit Angela last.

 _Mercy’s Wings_ is possibly the most reputable clinic on Elpis; it’s certainly the cleanest, and you can also be relatively well assured that the resident doctor won’t try to steal your organs while you aren’t looking. Angela happens to be a good friend of McCree’s; they met a few years back when she hired him to clear out a few bandits by her old research facility. Nowadays, she offers him discounts on his medical checkups during his infrequent visits.

“You’re late, Jesse,” Angela tells him, when he walks in the clinic doors.

“What?” McCree says. “I just got here.”

“Your last checkup was due months ago,” Angela says. “Also, have you been gaining weight?”

McCree splutters, and Angela laughs.

They make conversation as Angela runs through the health examination and decontamination protocol.

“So, what’s new?” McCree asks.

Angela hums. “The usual, you know. The Meriff is as unpopular as ever, of course, but business has been good recently. Fareeha should be back from her tour in a few weeks-- which reminds me, I’ve been hearing rumors of interplanetary dissent in the Edens.”

“What now?” McCree says.

“The clans,” Angela says patiently. “They are growing restless with no clear line of succession, fighting amongst themselves for power. There’s a new scandal every day. Missing person reports, rumors of kidnappings. Not that planetside politics are any of our concern, but it is useful to keep up with current events.”

“Huh,” McCree says.

Angela levels him a look. “Really, McCree, I know you live in a hovel by yourself but you could turn on the news every once in awhile.”

“I don’t live in a hovel--” McCree starts to say, but Angela snaps her fingers.

“I just remembered something,” she says. “There’s someone waiting for you in the waiting room. I think they might be an alien.”

It takes a few seconds for McCree to make the connection. “Genji’s not an alien,” he says.

“Either way, you shouldn’t keep them waiting,” Angela says, shooing him out of patient room.

Genji is sitting in the waiting room, watching the holovid screen. It’s tuned to the news.

“Genji,” McCree says. Genji doesn’t seem to hear him, head turned toward the screen. “ _Genji_ ,” McCree repeats, and Genji looks up.

“Jesse,” Genji says. He sounds distant.

“Hey,” McCree says. “So how was your day in Concordia? Was it everything you hoped and dreamed?”

Genji’s visor glows in amusement. “Hardly. Someone tried to mug me on my way to the black market.”

“Huh,” McCree says. He rubs his chin. “That would explain why I can’t find my bag of moonstones anywhere.”

“Don’t worry, I have your moonstones,” Genji says. “I also got you something else.” He pulls out something from a box beside him, and holds it out to McCree.

It’s a new hat. McCree accepts it with two hands, turning it over, rubbing the shiny new buckle in astonishment. “Wow, Genji, I-- wow.”

“Since your old one got eaten by a kraggon,” Genji says. He bounces to his feet.

McCree puts his new hat on his head, craning to look at his reflection in the shop windows.

“You look very handsome,” Genji assures him. McCree barks out a laugh. He feels light and giddy, but he chalks that up to Concordia’s superior atmospheric oxygen generator.

“Come on,” he says, twining his arm around Genji’s, “let’s go home.”

 

-

 

Genji is pensive on the ride back. McCree doesn’t pester him; it’s a comfortable kind of silence. He watches the constellations as they bump along the road home.

Finally Genji breaks the silence. His voice is uncharacteristically solemn. “Jesse,” he says, “There’s something I need to do.”

“What?” McCree says.

Genji looks out the window. “I have to go back,” he says.

“What do mean? Go back where?” McCree asks.

Genji gestures up toward the sky. “Home. I have been away for long enough.”

McCree’s heart sinks. “Genji,” he says.

“I thought… at first, I could avoid my responsibilities,” Genji says. “I thought no one would miss me if I stayed here with you.”

“I’d miss you, if you left,” McCree says. He tries not to let his voice waver, although his throat is closing up.

"Jesse," Genji says. "Jesse. Being here was the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me. I'm glad I met you. And I promise I'll come back someday. But now, my family needs me."

McCree swallows. He thinks of how only a few months ago, a moonshot container had fallen toward Elpis while he was out gathering parts. How he and a stranger had stumbled back to camp, huddled together to share precious oxygen. Getting a spare O2 kit. The digistruct key.

But it's obvious that this is something very important to Genji. And anyway, McCree has never been one to make the right decisions. He relents.

“What do you need?” he asks.

“I need to take a transport ship to Eden-5,” he says. “I already got supplies in Concordia. I’ll just need an ECHO communicator to tell my brother when I’ll be arriving.”

“You can take mine,” McCree says. “When will you leave?”

“Three days should be enough time for me to prepare. And… to say goodbye. If that’s alright with you.”

McCree looks down at his feet. “It’s alright with me. What about you?”

Genji lifts McCree’s chin with his hands so he’s looking back up at him. “I’ll be fine,” he says gently, and McCree wishes he didn’t believe him so easily.

 

-

 

Three days later Genji packs up a moon buggy and heads off to Concordia. McCree watches him leave from the doorway of his garage, staring at the shrinking shape of the buggy in the distance until it disappears altogether. Then he goes and lies faceup on his bed. Eventually Mei finds him there.

“Jesse!” she says. “Why haven’t you been answering your ECHO?”

McCree’s hand drifts to the spot on his belt where he used to keep his ECHO clipped. “I don’t have it anymore,” he admits. “I gave it to Genji so he could get back to the Edens.”

Mei stares at him. “You let him leave?” she gasps.

“I let him leave,” McCree confirms. He rolls over to press his face against the pillow.

“But you guys were--” Mei says.

“It’s fine,” McCree says.

“Are you--”

“Everything is fine, Mei.”

Mei gives him a doubtful look. “Okay,” she says. “Well, if you need anything I’ll be coming back tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Mei,” McCree says. “I think I just wanna be left alone right now.”

He hears Mei close the door behind her. He lies in darkness for a long while, clutching the hat Genji gave him to his chest. He doesn’t cry, but he doesn’t do much of anything else, either.

Time passes.

 

-

 

Eventually Mei coaxes him outside.

“You can’t mope around forever,” she tells him.

“I ain’t moping,” McCree says.

Mei levels him a look. “Come on, help me sort these lava samples,” she says.

McCree fills his days. He assists Mei in her research to the best of his ability. He culls the kraggons again when they start nosing too close to home. He gets a new ECHO communicator from Concordia. Angela asks him where his friend is; McCree declines to answer.

One day Mei invites him to go ride the jump pads in the newly cleared Regolith Range. McCree shakes his head. “I can’t right now,” he says. “I’m waiting for someone first.” Mei pats him on the shoulder.

There’s a meteor shower. McCree stays indoors until it passes.

He waits.

 

-

 

McCree gets to working through the scav sites Genji marked on his map. The haul is good, though he has to make more trips to carry all the parts back to the garage by himself.

He’s walking back when he sees it out of the corner of his eye: a streak of light, hurtling towards Elpis like a shooting star. McCree squints at it, trying to discern the shape.

It’s a shuttle. One of those individual pods the space stations use for short distance travel.

McCree’s heart jumps in his chest. Then he’s running, his sack of parts long forgotten, running towards home, following the trail of smoke like a beacon.

 _Genji,_ he shouts. _Genji!_  He can hardly get enough oxygen in his lungs, but he doesn’t slow down.

The shuttle comes to view, dust settling around the landing site. McCree comes to a stop in front of the hatch, hardly daring to breathe. It doesn’t take long, but it feels like an eternity before the hatch cracks open.

Genji.

And McCree’s shouting as he’s leaping forward, shouting Genji’s name like he’s going to rattle the whole crater and wake the kraggons but he doesn’t care, because there’s a swelling in his chest like a hollow being filled and--

\--and Genji settles into his arms.

“Hi,” Genji says. The starlight shines off his armor and his voice is bright with laughter. “I’m back.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me at my tumblr [here](http://leonshardt.tumblr.com)


End file.
